Gate lock



Patented Nov. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GATE LOCK Joseph M. Karwacki, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 22, 1944, Serial No. 564,598

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-106) 1 This invention relates to a lock structure for gates vor other closure members, which may also be used as a hinge structure.

More particularly, the invention relates to a lockable hook and eye construction adap-ted to beused either as a lock or hinge for closures oi various kinds, particularly gates, doors, and the like. The construction is particularly adapted for use with closures of flexible material or construction or with some play in the mountings, so that they may have slight movement in their planes.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and eiiicient device which may be employed either as a lock or as a hinge for closures.

It is another object of this invention to provide a lock for gates or the like which is simple yet absolutely positive in action.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hook and eye structure which is latchable to secure a closure on a support.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of locking means for a gate or other closure which are readily operated to unlock the closure, and which lock automatically without requiring manual operation upon movement of the gate to lockable position.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the appended drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational View of a gate having the device of this invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View of a portion of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2, but showing the parts in a different relation;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the parts of the invention mounted on the closure;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line V--V of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View of another portion of Figure l.

It has already been pointed out that the invention may be employed either as a lock or as a hinge, and the invention is illustrated and described herein accordingly. The application of the invention as a gate lock is illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and as a hinge in Figures l and 6.

Figure 1 illustrates a porch gate G of the lazytongs type such as is commonly employed to bar access of small children to stairways and the like, having the invention applied thereto in both re- 2 lations, that is, as a lock L and also as a hinge means H. The invention, however, is not limited to application to closures of the particular type shown.

As shown in Figures l to 5, the gate lock comprises a hook I0, an eye II, and a plate I2. The shank lila of the hook I0 is passed through the end member of the gate G, in which a suitable bore may be provided, and the rear portion of the shank is bent as shown at I3 and preferably is caused to bite into the end member so as to hold the hook iirmly therein and prevent turning of the hook. The hook I0 may of course be secured otherwise than as shown and described as long as it is embedded in the gate G. The outer end of shank Illa is formed with a bight Ib and a tang I4. The tang I4 of the hook Ill is bent as at I5 in the direction of the gate. The eye II is screwed into a gate post I B opposite the hook I0 at a suitable height for convenient engagement with the hook.

The plate I2 is slidably secured on the end of the gate G by a screw I1 or the like which extends through a slot I8 in the plate I2. The screw I'I is not driven tightly against the plate, so that the plate may be moved easily within the limits permitted by the slot I8. Near the lower edge of the plate I2 is a second slot I9 through which the hook I0 extends. The lower edge of the plate I 2 is bent to provide a flange 20 extending in the direction of the bend I5 of the tang I4 of the hook I0.

The upper portion of the plate I2 is formed to provide suitable means for grasping the plate to lift it, shown, by way of illustration, as a curved portion 2I extending above the end member of the gate G. The plate I2 may have a stepped or offset portion 22 intermediate the curved portion 2l and the slotted portion of the plate.

In the lowered or locking position of the plate,

'the ange 20 is substantially opposite the bend I5 of the hook, as shown in Figure 2. In the raised or unlocking position of the plate I2, the flange 20 is immediately adjacent the bight I 0b of the hook I0 and relatively remote from the bend I5. The parts are soproportioned and shaped that in the lowered position of the plate I2 there is insuilicient space between the ange 20 and the bend I5 for passageof the screw-eye II therebetween, while in the raised position of the plate the flange 2B is spaced sufciently far from the bend I5 so that the eye II may pass between the bend I5 and the end member of the gate G,

The operation of the lock is very simple, as well as the construction. The locking position of the parts is shown in Figure 2. When the gate G is locked to the gate post I6, the hook II) and the screw-eye Il are at substantially the same level, as shown in full lines in this ligure. If the gate is moved downwardly the gate, of course, remains locked because the movement is resisted by the eye II. If the gate is moved upwardly the gate is kept locked because the bend I and the flange 20 engage the bottom surface of the eye II, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, after a slight upward movement, and the upward movement is then arrested by the eye II. Horizontal movement of the gate G, of course, has no eiect on its locked condition.

It should be noted that there is a slight movement of the gate G toward the gate post I5 upon unlocking of the gate and also, of course, upon locking of the gate, due to passage of the bend I5 in the tang I4 through the eye II. As already pointed out, the gate G is of a type which will yield at least slightly to movement either in a horizontal direction or to movement in a vertical direction, or is mounted upon hinges which will allow a certain amount of play so that such movements of the gate are possible.

To unlock the gate G, it is only necessary to draw the plate I2 upwardly so that the flange 20 no longer cooperates with the bend I5 to restrict the space between the bend I5 and the end of the gate, and continue the upward movement so as to move the gate G upwardly until the tang I4 of the hook I0 has passed through the eye II. The unlocking position of the plate I2, with the gate partially raised and the tang I4 partially retracted from the eye II, is shown in Figure 3 in full lines. The relative position of the gate post I6 and eye Il before upward movement of the gate G is shown in dotted lines. After the hook I2 and eye II have been disengaged, the gate G may of course be swung on its hinges or, if of the type shown in Figure 1, moved to its collapsed condition.

Locking of the gate, of course, is accomplished by reversing the unlocking procedure. This may be done simply by lifting the gate, without moving the plate I2 from its lowered or locking position, and allowing it to drop so that the tang I4 moves into the eye I I. The bottom surface of the iiange 20 is engaged by the eye, and the ilange and the plate I2 moved upwardly until the bend I5 and eye I I pass each other and the gate moves away from the post IS. The flange 2B then clears the eye I I and the plate I2 falls by its own weight to bring the flange 2! into locking position.

In Figures 2 and 3, in order to avoid confusion of lines, the gate post I6 and the eye II, which actually are the non-moving parts of the structure, have been shown both in full lines and in dotted lines to indicate diiierent positions relative to the gate G, hook IIJ, and plate I2, which are the parts of the structure which actually move in use. The relative movement of the parts isthus clearly indicated.

The hook I!) maybe simply and economically made of steel wire or similar material and the screw-eye Il may be made of the same material.

The plate I2 also is readily and cheaply formed,

lized as a hinge instead of a lock with but very slight modication. As shown in Figure 6, the hook ID and screw-eye II are secured in the'gate 5G and gate post I6, respectively, in the samev manner as described in connection with the use of these elements in the lock structure. The plate I2, however, is replaced by a plate I2a which is substantially identical to the plate I2 except for the absence of the curved portion 2|. Instead of the offset portion 22 of the plate I2, the plate I2a is formed with a ange 22a at its upper edge. The flange 22a provides a convenient means for shifting the plate I2a. The offset portion 22 is provided in the plate I2 so that in manufacturing the plates I2 or IZa in quantities the same machines, tools, or dies may be employed for either plate, thus adding to the economy of manufacture. The plates might be made without the offset portion 22 or the flange 22a, if desired, as will be obvious. It will also be obvious that if desired the plate I2a may be employed instead of the plate I2 in the use of the device as a lock, with the flange 22a substituted for the curved portion 2| as the means for grasping the plate for moving it.

The plate I2a has an upper slot i8 and a lower slot IS, just as in the case of the plate I2, the hook passing through the lower slot I e and a screw or the like I'I passing through the upper slot I8 to secure the plate i2a to the gate G. When the device of this invention is used as a hinge, however, the screw Il is driven tightly against the plate 52d so that it is held substantially immovably on the gate G. The plate I2a is secured in the lowered position after the hook portion Iii has been passed through the eye II, so that the flange 2B and bend I5 prevent disengagement of the hook IE) and eye I I, as already explained in connection. with the application of the device as a lock.

If it is desired to remove the gate fromA its hinges, it is only necessary to loosen the screw Il slightly and move the plate I2a to its raised or unlocking position and then lift the gate G to disengage the hook portion I4 from the eye II, in the manner already described.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be Varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a gate which is movable in the direction of the length of a fixed member to engage and disengage the locking means on the gate with a cooperating eye on the fixed member; that improvement which comprises a one piece hook having a shank, a bight and a tang with the shank immovably embedded in a portion of the gate and with the bight and tang spaced from said portion; the said tang having a part bent towards said gate portion to define a restricted space therebetween but slightly greater than' the thickness of an eye; a member slidable on said gate portion astraddle the hook and having a projection extending between said gate portion and said tang and so proportioned that when it is moved opposite the bend in the tan-g it reduces the space between it and the bend. in the tang to less than the thickness of an eye te prevent separation of the hook from the eye and when moved adjacent the bight unblocks such space to permit separation as well as engagement of the hook and eye.

2. In a gate which is movable in the direction of the length of a fixed member to engage and disengage the locking means on the gate with a cooperating eye on a xed member; that improvement which comprises a one piece hook having a shank, a bight and a tang with the shanl immovably embedded in a portion of the gate with the bight and tang spaced from said portion; the said tang having a part bent towards said gate portion to define a restricted Space therebetween but slightly greater than the thickness of an eye; a member slidable on said gate portion; said slidable member having a projection on it below the bight; said projection blocking the space between said gate portion and tang against separation of the hook from an eye when said member is in its lowermost position and unblocking said space when said member is in its uppermost position.

JOSEPH M. KARWACKI.

REFERENCES CITED AThe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,331,678 Schultz Feb, 24, 1920 1,790,765 Provv Feb. 3, 1931 2,283,983 Gibson May 26, 1942 135,837 Overholser Feb, 11, 1873 559,909 Randall May 12, 1896 1,511,963 Haugh Oct. 14, 1924 1,742,764 Giltsch et al Jan. 7, 1930 2,379,970 Ko-ebel July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 89,614 Germany Nov. 25, 1896 

